Amongst all the cricket-related questions that fire themselves into my brain during quiet moments, of which there are disturbingly many for a supposedly grown-up father of two and alleged political satirist, the one that has put its hand up and asked itself most frequently of late has been: How can you tell when a cricketer is in terminal career decline? (I will share some of the other questions in another blog later in the week.)

There is no formula for judging when a blip in form becomes the harbinger of inevitable retirement, or when those proposing the adage “form is temporary, class is permanent”, start to add the words “but Father Time can be a cantankerous old bastard when he wants to be”.

It will not have escaped the notice of the more eagle-eyed cricket followers that Sachin Tendulkar, the cricketing icon of his age and one of the greatest players in the history of the game, is still awaiting his 100th international hundred. All seven billion people currently at large in the world have not scored 100 international hundreds, and for the moment Tendulkar is still one of the them. All their forebears also failed to reach that milestone, and given the changing schedule and nature of modern cricket, it seems likely that all their descendants will fail to reach it as well.

So it is perhaps understandable that, in a game obsessed with milestones, this megamilestone is causing rather more fretting than, objectively, it should. Reaching it is not going to make Tendulkar a greater player, and failing to reach it would not make him a lesser one - though it would be quite annoying for him, and for cricket. If Neil Armstrong had landed his magic rocket on the moon, taken one look outside, decided it looked a bit chilly for a walk, and blasted himself and his buddies straight back to Earth, it would still have been a hugely impressive voyage. Having journeyed so far, obviously the symbolic moment of placing the flag on the moon was important – but the overall achievements of the space programme, and the broader technological miracle of being able to fire people 250,000 miles in a souped-up tin can and get them home again afterwards were, ultimately, of more significance.

It is now 29 innings since Tendulkar scored his 99th international hundred. It is his second longest sequence of innings without a century in his unfathomably massive international career (there was a 34-innings hiatus between hundred No. 78 and hundred No. 79, in 2007).

It is worth thinking back to that 99th hundred, his second century of a triumphant World Cup, both of them innings of peerless brilliance, in which his technique, judgement and boldness were close to flawless; a master in total control of his craft. At that point he had scored 11 hundreds for India in 14 months, at a rate of one every three innings, including eight in 15 Tests, and the first-ever ODI double-century. Statistically he had never been as good.

Since then, there have been 11 months and 29 innings of finely crafted near-misses, sawn-off cameos and failures, a cocktail of uncompleted brilliance and uncharacteristic uncertainty.

Why?

Has the pressure of reaching a milestone, to which no other player has ever, or is ever likely to, come close, affected the mind of the master? Have his 38 years and ten months on the planet, and more particularly his 22 years and three months of international cricket, finally caught up with him? Has his luck simply changed? Is he tired? Is he bored of watching a small, hard, red round thing fly towards him whilst hundreds of millions of people watch to see if he can hit it with a plank of wood? When you have done so 50,000 times, the novelty must wear off. Is he simply sated of milestones, after snaring his 200th international wicket in the Cape Town Test just over a year ago (for which, incidentally, there had been a 34-match, 15-month wait after wicket No. 199)? Or has the ghost of Donald Bradman been interfering, trying to ensure that his closest modern equivalent ends up like him, stranded on 99?

Answers by carrier pigeon to PO Box 100, Cricketville, please. Even the most ardent of Tendulkar fans would admit that the Mumbai Methuselah is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but recent cricket history is laden with wild fluctuations of form – as dumped-from-the-ODI-side-shortly-after-two-massive-Test-hundreds Ricky Ponting will testify. As will the whole of the England and Pakistan teams. And most other cricketers. Except perhaps Glenn McGrath, who posted a Test average between 15 and 23 in ten out of 11 years from 1995 to 2005 (and only played four Tests in 2003, his one rogue year, when he averaged 35).

Tendulkar has had to face cricketing mortality before, when his elbow injury significantly reduced him as a player and the statistics suggested that he would never touch his previous heights again. From December 2002 to November 2007, he averaged 46 in Tests; 38 if you exclude four Tests and plenty of runs against Bangladesh; 29 if you also remove a two-game spike in Sydney and Multan early in 2004, in which he harvested 495 unbeaten runs in three innings (and which interrupted a sequence of 15 single-figure scores in 21 Test innings). Obviously, if you remove massive unbeaten centuries from anyone’s career, their average will drop, but it nevertheless shows how Tendulkar’s base level of performance sank during his Elbow Years, and the extraordinary powers of recovery he showed to recapture his greatness.

Others have done likewise. Jacques Kallis appeared to be in decline in 2008. From February to November of that year, he batted 17 times in 11 Tests, passed 25 only three times, and averaged 24, despite having played four of those Tests against Bangladesh, and also struggled in the ODI series in England. He then had an adequate but unspectacular series in Australia.

At that point, with 13 years of multi-format all-round exertions on his cricketing milometer, it was not unreasonable to assume that he was on an irretrievable slide towards his cricketing dotage. He promptly embarked on a run of 17 Tests over two years in which he scored ten centuries, averaged 78, and played with a majestic freedom he had largely kept hidden from public view. He also averaged 52 in 20 ODIs, with a strike rate of 86. The pipe and slippers could wait.

What of Ponting’s recent resurgence and/or collapse in form? From early 2002 to late 2006, he averaged 75 in 53 Tests, with 24 centuries, perhaps the closest anyone has come to matching Bradman over an elongated period. In 25 matches from the third Ashes Test of 2006 until the first of 2009, he averaged 44. In 26 Tests from then until the defeat to New Zealand in Hobart in December, he averaged 33, with one century (and that facilitated a sub-schoolboy drop when he was on 0). Ponting’s decline was prolonged and provable. He then clouted India for 544 runs in five completed innings. And was then dismissed in single figures in five successive ODI innings. Was Ponting’s literal and metaphorical Indian summer, in economic parlance, a “dead-cat bounce” (when a plummeting share price briefly recovers before thudding back down to earth), against bowling and fielding that often seemed to have been inspired by a dead cat? Or is he now set for his late-career revival, as proved to be the case for Kallis and Tendulkar (and Lara)?

Few players depart the international stage quite as gloriously as their careers deserve. Gilchrist, who in his first 68 Tests had averaged 55 and established himself as without question the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman ever to pick up a bat and some gloves, finished by averaging 30 in his last 28 Tests, during which time he was statistically only the sixth-best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world, a little behind Prasanna Jayawardene, and a long way behind Kamran Akmal. Herbert Sutcliffe scored 16 centuries in his first 40 Tests, but none in his final 14. Graham Gooch was a decent Test batsman for many years, then a great one for four years in his late 30s, then, when he could have retired, played on. He scored a double-hundred at Lord’s. Then passed 50 just once in his final ten Tests. Ian Botham, who had begun his career as one of the most spectacular and high-impact cricketers of all time, was almost completely ineffective for his last 23 Tests over more than six years, as if Beethoven had wound down his hall-of-fame musical writing career penning advertising ditties for kids’ toothpaste. Viv Richards averaged mid-70s in his dazzling pomp from 1976 to 1981, mid-40s from 1981 to 1989, and mid-30s in his final couple of years in Tests. Jason Gillespie scored a double-century in his final Test innings. If there is a god, he is no respecter of batting legends.

Andy Zaltzman is a stand-up comedian, a regular on the BBC Radio 4, and a writer

Maybe Tendulkar is waiting to score his 100th 100 against Pakistan? With matches between the 2 teams so few and far between, I think it's all been blown a little out of proportion. Consider: In his last outing against Pakistan, he almost got a 100. That's when his string of 'almost' performances began. How much money are people willing to bet that he gets it in the Asia Cup, with Pakistan as his opponents.

Perhaps on some future edition of 'On This Day' on Cricinfo, it will read 'Tendulkar scores his 100th 100 against Pakistan'. The focus would be on the opponents on this case rather than the achievement. Any other team and it'll just be 'Tendulkar's 100th 100'.

Karys
on March 2, 2012, 8:42 GMT

4 Jul 09 Vj,Welcome back! I knew that you wuodln't make a post without me being available to comment on it :-)Superstitions! Nice one to start it back all again.Some of mine are wearing my favourite light brown shirt for important examinations, the left foot socks and shoes trick you followed (I followed / following too), marking my crease every time I face a ball in cricket, sticking to my chair when the cricket match is in my favour, my own way of decorating my office cubicle, lucky Lord Vinayagar scarf in my bike, I ensure that it stays on my petrol tank every time I start my bike!Without my notice things would have work good for me without me doing all of the above. But every time I noticed that I am doing the above, things are of my favour.These superstitions are good for me to believe because they work out for me and why not ;-) 2

Kartik
on February 23, 2012, 23:42 GMT

The sad thing is that there was an ODI in 2007 where Tendulkar was run out for 99..

Not even a bowler-dismissal for 99, but a RUN OUT for 99.

Who knew that such an event would be one way that everyone is in anguish today.

At the same time, a lot of this is Tendulkar's own doing. After the World Cup, he has skipped 3 Tests and 19 ODIs for India (not even counting the 'rotational' ones in this CB series). Surely had he not skipped those 3 tests and 19 ODIs (many of which were against easy opponents), he would have gotten this ton by now.

By skipping so many ODIs, he has shortchanged his ODI career in other ways. I wanted him to finish with 500 ODIs and 20,000 runs. Only 40 more matches would have done this. But instead, he has skipped about 100 of India's last 150 matches, when he needed to just play in 40 of them.

Oh, and his century tally would be 105 by now, not 99, if he just played in those 40 more ODIs.

jap
on February 23, 2012, 5:18 GMT

For us out here it all has a lot to do with KARMA. The power above is wont to deal the cards appropriately. If there has been 99 can the 100 be too far...? One God to another :-) with a small g perhaps!

kalpesh ganatra
on February 22, 2012, 19:02 GMT

Sachin should start playing natural game, start dominating bowlers by attacking them, he should try to cut and pull the ball which he is not doing fright now play freely, should use high back lift, and bend a back little, should use light weight bat in australia

Anonymous
on February 22, 2012, 12:51 GMT

dear Mr.Randy,keeping aside the view of Mr.Zaltzman on Sachin Tendulkar or the question of whether or not he should be retiring any time soon, I have only one question for you,"are you nuts?".....though Lara is one of the greatest test cricketers ever n has carved a niche for himself that places him on a pedestal higher than many many others, comparing him to Sachin Tendulkar is like comparing your garden pool to the Pacific. He has been the backbone of a team of patchy performers, a team which depended almost completely on its batting, sachin being the sole batsman who provided the big runs(a condition,which I am glad to say,has changed long since). I dont wanna get started on stats (performance in world cups and all) and please kindly dont get me started on lara's coming back from retirement TWICE to seal his records. Mark my words, when sachin retires, he will go into the sunset with the grace of a man who has won a never ending war,never even having to think of coming back...

rrakesh
on February 22, 2012, 10:45 GMT

Nice stats..

Philip Gnana
on February 22, 2012, 10:39 GMT

The more games SRT has against Sri Lanka, greater the chance of him getting his 100th one hundred.
I am certain that SL will afford him the privilege too. SL cricket need the BCCI right?

praxis
on February 22, 2012, 6:52 GMT

Andy, whenever I read your blog, I understand the definition of sugar-coating.

sallu
on February 22, 2012, 6:36 GMT

For Indians & Indian cricket board an individual (tendulkar) is more important then the country of 1.2 billion population.
I think it will be better for Indians to invite Zimbabwe or Bangladesh to India, so that tendulkar can make his 100th 100 and get the retirement.
He can't do this out side India against any strong team.
he always played his game for his personal records & his contribution towards Indian team's victory is nil.
how gr8 player he is.......? as he is under pressure for his 100th 100 and team is struggling like any thing.
unfortunately Tendulkar also don't have any moral courage to announce his retirement on his continuous failure, coz of his selfish nature.

Z
on March 7, 2012, 1:50 GMT

Maybe Tendulkar is waiting to score his 100th 100 against Pakistan? With matches between the 2 teams so few and far between, I think it's all been blown a little out of proportion. Consider: In his last outing against Pakistan, he almost got a 100. That's when his string of 'almost' performances began. How much money are people willing to bet that he gets it in the Asia Cup, with Pakistan as his opponents.

Perhaps on some future edition of 'On This Day' on Cricinfo, it will read 'Tendulkar scores his 100th 100 against Pakistan'. The focus would be on the opponents on this case rather than the achievement. Any other team and it'll just be 'Tendulkar's 100th 100'.

Karys
on March 2, 2012, 8:42 GMT

4 Jul 09 Vj,Welcome back! I knew that you wuodln't make a post without me being available to comment on it :-)Superstitions! Nice one to start it back all again.Some of mine are wearing my favourite light brown shirt for important examinations, the left foot socks and shoes trick you followed (I followed / following too), marking my crease every time I face a ball in cricket, sticking to my chair when the cricket match is in my favour, my own way of decorating my office cubicle, lucky Lord Vinayagar scarf in my bike, I ensure that it stays on my petrol tank every time I start my bike!Without my notice things would have work good for me without me doing all of the above. But every time I noticed that I am doing the above, things are of my favour.These superstitions are good for me to believe because they work out for me and why not ;-) 2

Kartik
on February 23, 2012, 23:42 GMT

The sad thing is that there was an ODI in 2007 where Tendulkar was run out for 99..

Not even a bowler-dismissal for 99, but a RUN OUT for 99.

Who knew that such an event would be one way that everyone is in anguish today.

At the same time, a lot of this is Tendulkar's own doing. After the World Cup, he has skipped 3 Tests and 19 ODIs for India (not even counting the 'rotational' ones in this CB series). Surely had he not skipped those 3 tests and 19 ODIs (many of which were against easy opponents), he would have gotten this ton by now.

By skipping so many ODIs, he has shortchanged his ODI career in other ways. I wanted him to finish with 500 ODIs and 20,000 runs. Only 40 more matches would have done this. But instead, he has skipped about 100 of India's last 150 matches, when he needed to just play in 40 of them.

Oh, and his century tally would be 105 by now, not 99, if he just played in those 40 more ODIs.

jap
on February 23, 2012, 5:18 GMT

For us out here it all has a lot to do with KARMA. The power above is wont to deal the cards appropriately. If there has been 99 can the 100 be too far...? One God to another :-) with a small g perhaps!

kalpesh ganatra
on February 22, 2012, 19:02 GMT

Sachin should start playing natural game, start dominating bowlers by attacking them, he should try to cut and pull the ball which he is not doing fright now play freely, should use high back lift, and bend a back little, should use light weight bat in australia

Anonymous
on February 22, 2012, 12:51 GMT

dear Mr.Randy,keeping aside the view of Mr.Zaltzman on Sachin Tendulkar or the question of whether or not he should be retiring any time soon, I have only one question for you,"are you nuts?".....though Lara is one of the greatest test cricketers ever n has carved a niche for himself that places him on a pedestal higher than many many others, comparing him to Sachin Tendulkar is like comparing your garden pool to the Pacific. He has been the backbone of a team of patchy performers, a team which depended almost completely on its batting, sachin being the sole batsman who provided the big runs(a condition,which I am glad to say,has changed long since). I dont wanna get started on stats (performance in world cups and all) and please kindly dont get me started on lara's coming back from retirement TWICE to seal his records. Mark my words, when sachin retires, he will go into the sunset with the grace of a man who has won a never ending war,never even having to think of coming back...

rrakesh
on February 22, 2012, 10:45 GMT

Nice stats..

Philip Gnana
on February 22, 2012, 10:39 GMT

The more games SRT has against Sri Lanka, greater the chance of him getting his 100th one hundred.
I am certain that SL will afford him the privilege too. SL cricket need the BCCI right?

praxis
on February 22, 2012, 6:52 GMT

Andy, whenever I read your blog, I understand the definition of sugar-coating.

sallu
on February 22, 2012, 6:36 GMT

For Indians & Indian cricket board an individual (tendulkar) is more important then the country of 1.2 billion population.
I think it will be better for Indians to invite Zimbabwe or Bangladesh to India, so that tendulkar can make his 100th 100 and get the retirement.
He can't do this out side India against any strong team.
he always played his game for his personal records & his contribution towards Indian team's victory is nil.
how gr8 player he is.......? as he is under pressure for his 100th 100 and team is struggling like any thing.
unfortunately Tendulkar also don't have any moral courage to announce his retirement on his continuous failure, coz of his selfish nature.

Anonymous
on February 22, 2012, 6:12 GMT

Hi Andy,

As usual a good one from you. By the way, Andy i'm at home today, bunked office on some whimsical reason, but that doesn't stop me working from home or browsing Page2.

In fact i'm watching NZ/SA T20 right now. Do you know why Sachin has not scored his 100th hundred till now.

Perhaps my curse, he scored his 99th Hundred on March 12th 2011 @ Nagpur, the day i was born 40 years back. I'm not a great fan of Sachin, hope he doesn't get to that mile stone till March 12th 2012, i will have a blast on that day, not beacause that is going to be my Birthday, but with that sadistic pleasure of celebrating the first anniversary of Sachin not scoring a century for a year!!! Cheers!!! Raja

Muzammil Mohsin Shaikh
on February 22, 2012, 6:05 GMT

Hi Andy,
I have read most of ur articles nd enjoy them the most and urs r the most funny ones among all the other writers on PAGE 2. But honestly speaking this article wasn't as funny as is supposed 2 b coming 4rm u. I get the feeling and its my feeling which might b or not b true that u were a bit afraid 2 express urself openly here so as 2 avoid furore by ur Indian followers. With all due respect to Tendulkar he is no more as gud as he used 2 b. He might get his 100th any time soon but he is not the same and is occupying a place in the team.

Dhaivat KP
on February 22, 2012, 4:22 GMT

A very well written article, indeed. As far as Tendulkar is concerned, while it is an undoubted fact that he has been a colossus for the last 22 years, he should realise that Anno Domini must always have the last laugh. The best thing for him to do would be to bow out gracefully, leaving us with only the happy memories. His recent lean patch, if continued, may cloud the judgement of History,not about his undoubted ability or genius,but about his ability to come to terms with his fallibility with advancing age and slowing down of reflexes.However,take a bow,Sachin,and please,please,BOW OUT!

Ajay G
on February 22, 2012, 4:15 GMT

Reading few of the comments of SRT being selfish is completely rubbish. Ever player goes through a rough patch, and in my mind SRT is not going through a rough patch where in he is getting out on series of ducks or so. Looking at his last 29 innings, in most of these he has seemed to get the starts, and get out while being defensive. Poor guy, he has set such a high standard for himself, that each of his failures come into highlight. In Aus test series, he did not get much support from the team, always came into bat with 30-50 runs down 2 wickets, in the first session of play. IT DOES MATTER, and he did counterattack in most of the tests. Laxman was a waste, Dravid wall exposed, Sehwag was batting like a tail ender, Gambhir continued to make same mistakes, and the list goes on...

Sam
on February 22, 2012, 3:44 GMT

Can we count the double ODI ton as 2 hundreds and give him the record already?!?

Lalit Bhatt
on February 22, 2012, 3:25 GMT

its just the matter of self confidence and concentration bt sachin nwdays lacks both and he is being able to have good shot selection despite he is one of the greatest player in the history of world cricket.....he is being pressured more and more by the expectators also......one or the other day i think he will get his milestone

Andy.. this one is near perfect.. How about master's revival from the waiting 100th slump and his body showing no signs of aging for another 2 years and a marathon once again :-) after all he had the most remarkable comeback in cricket history..

dunger.bob
on February 22, 2012, 2:25 GMT

Andy, in this age of batting inconsistency I think we need look no further than Chris Martin for hope. This great Kiwi is the last champion of the status quo. In a decade of Test cricket he has been able to keep his average steadfastly between 2 and 3. He is one of the few players in the history of the game to have the consistency required to keep the number in his wickets taken column larger than the one in his runs scored column. His career batting graph is almost a perfect flat-line but if you have high enough resolution you might be able to see the only discernable blot on his copybook. He has made it into double digits only once in his career, a magnificent 12 I think but it does ruin the straight line effect slightly. ... oh, btw, that Sachin fella will get his 100th/100 in India. They don't leave the joint for the next 2 years, so he'll have plenty of opportunity then.

Madhu
on February 22, 2012, 1:29 GMT

Sorry to say but Sankar you should watch some test cricket occasionally before saying you know what Tendulkar did or did not do in last 10 years.

Jose
on February 22, 2012, 0:39 GMT

whenever a star player is close to acquiring a feat...it takes a while...they usually go on slumps...one example that pops up to me is alex rodriguez taking 45 at-bats to hit his 600th homerun...after hitting 599!!!

Sundar Srinivasan
on February 22, 2012, 0:33 GMT

Ponting says "I tried my best over the last five games to be the best player I could be and to win games of cricket for Australia, unfortunately I couldn't do that and I failed, and I've been dropped from the one-day side".
He also states "It'd be great to get back to the Ashes. If I'm a good enough player to do that then it'd be great to go back there one more time and hopefully have a few better memories of England than what I've had the last couple of tours."
Dravid, Laxman, Sachin and other great players from the sub continent..are you listening to the man?

Troy
on February 21, 2012, 23:59 GMT

I would like to add Kapil Dev to your last paragraph, who in his quest for Richard Hadlee's record, seemed to play for ever for those last few wickets. Tendulkar should have retired on a high note after the World Cup triumph. But I guess it is not an easy decision to do that when you are on 99 centuries and in good physical shape.

Vijay
on February 21, 2012, 23:07 GMT

At least to save the current series Tendulkar and Sehwag should sit out. Irfan Pathan can be sent in as an opener to score quick runs in the first power play.

Dhoni if you are reading this post, the following team should play the remaining games...

Tendulkar is near the end, only a fool would say otherwise, but he has many more international knocks left in him. Looking at his performances, he is not struggling. When a batsman looks as good as he does, and is capable of playing himself back into form, he must be persisted with. He will continue to play, and when he excells once more the critics will move on, as they have always done. I'm just glad the BCCI is more understanding than CA, otherwise Tendulkar would have been dropped a long time ago.

Eli
on February 21, 2012, 22:01 GMT

Actually, the real Tendulkar is back somewhere in Mumbai. What we see here is a body double.

sos
on February 21, 2012, 21:42 GMT

Viv is still the best player I've seen. No helmet, fancy bats, flat pitches and he had to face the best fast bowlers in he history of the game.

Al
on February 21, 2012, 20:48 GMT

@Andy: We are talking of batting greats here. Why bring Ganguly into the equation ?

satish
on February 21, 2012, 20:28 GMT

i dont know if this is an apt comparison. Will Andu Murray eventually win a grand slam? Will Sachin Tendulkar score that elusive century? The way things are going, Murray's odds are looking better.

raju
on February 21, 2012, 20:01 GMT

10 Dulakar is one of the techniacally gifted player in the world specially with the wrist however Lara was the King in the pressure situation not to mention his foot work and attack against any spinners in the world where would you find a better player than Lara against spin.
so 10 Dulakr its in his head rather than on his technique so in my opinion he is not mentially tough as he should be but hey!!! who the hell i am who is questionaing about him and his technique who has given most of his life to the beautiful game of cricket.

Faisal
on February 21, 2012, 20:00 GMT

Good article. When someone achieved a greatness that cannot be compared then one should just leave it at that. But then its the culture that influence peoples mind. SRT is like a VOLDOMORT, but in opposite sense, one who must not be named. No one will tell him that you should retire. It will be him who will make that decision.

sharry
on February 21, 2012, 19:56 GMT

come on master u was u r ,,,u will my best player along with the whole world iam waiting ...well 100 ton is something specila and uniqe never happend before so it will happen on special day and it will memorable,,,,,,,

Tanveer Arif
on February 21, 2012, 19:07 GMT

whatever.....Sachin should never retire,,,at least not now

Tanveer Arif
on February 21, 2012, 18:58 GMT

whatever.....Sachin should never retire,,,at least not now

Sandeep
on February 21, 2012, 17:55 GMT

That's a very serious article coming from you, Andy. A Tendulkar fan myself, I find it incredibly hard to digest that Tendulkar is not in his best form just because of pressure. He has looked fantastic in parts, and horrible when trying to defend. Come on Tendulkar, giving your wicket to Kulasekara and Clarke is unforgivable.

SANKAR CHAKRABOTY
on February 21, 2012, 17:45 GMT

Mr. Zaltzman,
Even if people are talking about his retirement in ODIs I believe he can still show his brilliance in ODIs. But what I am worried about is his TEST batting.Even though statistics says that he has got tons of runs in test cricket in the past 10 years until last English summer but I have always been doubtful about his success under bowling friendly tracks or when Indian batting in a mess. Look at Ponting recently. he was under relentless pressure about his place inthe team. And at 34/3 and 84/3 he came in and won it for him and the team. Tendulkar hasn't done anything like that in last 10 years (Dravid,Laxman have done it time and again. Lara almost made it a habit).Whenever India has been in real danger you can be assured that it's going to be anybody but Tendulkar.that's what the story for the past 10 years!But he has been an extraordinary performer under favourable conditions (flat pitch ,Sewhag/Dravid taking the newball shine off,bowlers demoralised/frustrated)

Vijay Salvi
on February 21, 2012, 17:41 GMT

hi

Chris Purnell
on February 21, 2012, 17:28 GMT

What a stunning analysis of form and especially fluctuating form.

Anonymous
on February 21, 2012, 17:19 GMT

if sachan gona play for 100th century he can,t he should play his natural game..... sachan good luck or now should follow ponting.

ultrasnow
on February 21, 2012, 16:43 GMT

Thanks Andy. For a Tendlya fan, a nice balanced article without being disrespectful to the great man. Only you Andy can write an article so full of humour without in any way taking cheap digs at players you mention (current and past).

Sankara
on February 21, 2012, 16:10 GMT

yes, why dont they understand when is the time to go? if tendlya scores a centurey in the next match, shoud it be a sign for him to retire after a century or will he think if I can score a century now, I should dabble around a little more. it is surprising how these greats cant see the writing on the wall. BOSS, YR TIME IS UP. AS AN INDIAN I DONT CARE ABOUT YR CENTURY OF CENTURIES AS MUCH AS WHETHER INDIA, MY TEAM, CAN GET INTO THE FINALS. Please sir,understand this.

vijay
on February 21, 2012, 15:58 GMT

sachin will do it , its just waiting for that big stage and must do match and must do class to come .

Farrukh Azeem
on February 21, 2012, 15:54 GMT

What about imran khan mate ....

Kumar Aashish
on February 21, 2012, 15:51 GMT

Nice blog :-)

Aayush
on February 21, 2012, 15:18 GMT

Andy,
Sachin will score it. Its just a matter of luck clicking in his favour. And I assure you that'll be followed by a string of numerous 100's.. Sachin will do it. I just get this feeling. He'll go beyond 100.

Steven Fischer
on February 21, 2012, 14:55 GMT

Brilliant stuff!!!

M. Adil Khan
on February 21, 2012, 14:44 GMT

I think Tendulkar knows that as soon as he will reach the milestone, he will find no space for himself in the side nor will he find cricket crazy people of India by his side. Because Indian people are now dying to see him achieving this milestone and as soon as he does that, Indian people will lose interest in Tendulkar. And the little master knows that very well and for this reason, he is not running after the century of centuries. He wants to play cricket for few more years and Indian people will not let him stop playing till he achieves that medal of honour for them.

RANDY PERKINS
on February 21, 2012, 14:37 GMT

Mr Zaltzman, I know that you are one of those who cling to your guns like the one billion in India and idolise Sachin Tendulkar; and I also know that you make your living as a 'crap' monger. However, because this article seems to be an output of some of your more serios opinions, and does not seem to be an attempt to publish any of your usual crap, I think that before you continue to overrate Mr Tendulkar, you should first do an analysis of his performance against that of the unmatchable Brian Lara, for the period 1989 to 2007, when both men almost simultaneously began their careers. You would find the truth about the greater man from that exercise. It is a scientific exercise and the only fair means by which a comparison can be made about these two players, at least. You all cannot expect to be taking quantitative statistics in their rawest format and try to fool the uninformed public with your bias Tendulkar-cronyism rhetoric.

Amar Patnaik
on February 21, 2012, 14:29 GMT

One should retire when people ask 'Why?' , not when they ask 'Why Not?' Indian cricketers, bar Gavaskar never understood this and keep on playing for ever for more money.

blaster
on February 21, 2012, 14:21 GMT

If sachin has played dale styen so well , why could he not score a single century against England and Australian.

Does that mean England bowlers and Au bowlers are much better than dale steyn ?

The answer is simple, the pitches in SA ( in last 5-7 years ) like Westindies are like INDIA. Steyn was trying to bowl lot of deliveries to sachin's strength which is middle and leg. When he bowls offside he bowled WIDE and sachin ( EVEN ASHWIN ) could cut it .

Sachin has failed very badly against some good pace and swing bowling in England and Australia.

If he was so great ASK URSELF , why could he not save a single match for INDIA ????

He is not willing to sacrifice his place to any youngster, always he wants to open, What do u call this person who is so selfish.

Everyother person needs to sacrifice for him .. ALL HE DOES IS PLAY 50 OVERS BECUASE HE OPENS AND SCORES 100, BECAUSE HE PLAYS FOR THAT 100.

Shashidhar n b
on February 21, 2012, 14:14 GMT

Its the right time to take retairement.I strongly urges sachin has to take retairement and step down honourly.

S Warty
on February 21, 2012, 14:00 GMT

Sachin's struggles have more to do with preparation than form. He is starting off brilliantly in every innings and then falls.
In England, sachin was clearly not match fit and took time to get settled. Windies home series had good scores and Australia was no different.
What Sachin needs is a good couple of games to get his mind focused again. Once that happens he could bat for 2 or 3 years more and pile another 30 international hundreds.
The travails of the team have also upset his rhythm. The BCCI is partly to blame for Sachin's match fitness and that of his teammates.
Sachin has been written off a few times before and he has surprised everybody. Perhaps his best is yet to come!

Aditya
on February 21, 2012, 13:59 GMT

Wonderfully written!
He missed the chance to retire from all forms of test cricket after having won the world cup. That would have proved that his timing of retirement is as sharp as his timing of his cricketing shots.

Bikash chandra karmakar
on February 21, 2012, 13:58 GMT

i would say tendulkar will definately make his 100 ton, once he finished the milestone, he will be able to score more frequently again.

mohan
on February 21, 2012, 13:48 GMT

SACHIN WILL PLAY TILL THE2015 WORLD CUP .
HE WILL BE THE FIRST PLAYER TO PLAY -500 ODI & 225 TESTMATCHES.

Brilliant. loved the phrase "If there is a god, he is no respecter of batting legends" . Its well said and the stats back 'em up perfectly.

anil
on February 21, 2012, 13:42 GMT

What is more important than his 100th 100 is that India needs to win. if there is a better player than him to do that at any given time then that player should be on the team . One hopes his icon stature ,well deserved ,i might add, is not clouding that judgement

rajashekhar
on February 21, 2012, 13:41 GMT

Great piece of writing and excellent way to bring out the issues of decline of the cricketer. Wish the same was done in bowling as well. it is a life cycle of a cricketer that has been portrayed. Given the emotions attached to the cricket in India it is almost impossible for them to remove them they call themselves quits especially with the lucrative money they get. What you have analysed should be read by Indian selectors for that matter each country selectors to modify the team. I still rate Australia has the better selection process.

Prasant valluri
on February 21, 2012, 13:29 GMT

He is certainly on decline and it would be good if retires instead of selectors trying to speak and asking him to retire. He should have retired after the World cup One should not play for records and if the records happen when you are in form it is well and good. The great Imran Khan said the same and he retired after winning the world cup Let himnot deprive a promising player a place in the teamPrasant

Sam
on February 21, 2012, 13:19 GMT

Can Sachin be gracious as Ricky Ponting and say goodbye to all forms of cricket? The problem with Mumbai cricketers or Indian cricketers is they like to stay on until they get the boot....the list is long...it was players like Gavaskar and Kapil who retired with their heads high....even the cocky Shastri was booted out as he became a hangover!!!!!

Abhishek
on February 21, 2012, 13:19 GMT

Amazing article,simply brilliant.

Eliya Abbas
on February 21, 2012, 13:18 GMT

You know what?? Sachin hasn't been scoring too many runs since he broke his 'lucky' bat with which he scored the ODI double century and quite a few other centuries...

bala
on February 21, 2012, 13:16 GMT

Its high time that sachin quits odi and plays oly test cricket, cause the england and australia series he has performed poorly and contributed to india's away losses..time to groove in youngsters

jason_double
on February 21, 2012, 13:07 GMT

"If there is a god, he is no respecter of batting legends."
And if there is no God, then this is the natural pathway to any sportsman's retirement , legend or not. (unless one retires for personal reasons or out of boredom from the game)

H.Malik
on February 21, 2012, 13:01 GMT

I think ST has missed the boat by retiring at the pianncle of his career when in mu humble opinion he should have , after waiting 5 worldcups and then lifting the trophy in 2011 . he would have been better off But like one of his predecessor captain ( Kapil Dev ) the temptation to a worldly record ( maximum wickets to beat Sir RH of NZ ) made kapil a joke himself for over 3+years of his evental end (forced ) . ST is another one of the same who will have to be pushed over but again the temptations are too much ( money wise too ) to bow out gracefully when the time was right to do it . Punters was my choiceamong the 4 Greats ( in all aspects of a complete cricketer and a Captain successfull compared to medicore captaincy of ST and Brain lara and King Viv) Yet I am not sheding tears on him being shown the door from the scene

RVMohan
on February 21, 2012, 12:58 GMT

As usual, an over bloated article on an overrated player.....

Hassan Farooqi
on February 21, 2012, 12:56 GMT

Don Bradman could not get his average to 100 and got out cheaply in last inning to keep it 99. Had he been greater in our eyes if he had an average of 100 instead of 99? Would Tendulker be any greater if he gets his 100th 100? I know he is not so great in my eyes trying to get his 100th 100 and not being able to do that. I assure him, he would get his 100th 100 the moment he would stop trying to get it, and play his usual self.

Pallab
on February 21, 2012, 12:55 GMT

Does this player has any morality, even after playing for so many years he is still craving for name, fame and records, sacrifing the reputation of the country.

AJAY BHASKAR
on February 21, 2012, 12:54 GMT

HI NO COMMENTS ABOUT SACHIN TENDULKAR WORLD NO 1 BATSMAN

Sujay Nag
on February 21, 2012, 12:21 GMT

Awesome observation and practical facts !!

Sa-aadat Parker
on February 21, 2012, 12:14 GMT

Tendulkars rise and subsequent slump seems to correlate with Gary Kirsten being the coach and then leaving. I wonder if there is anything in that.

Chris
on February 21, 2012, 12:05 GMT

"International hundreds" isn't a megamilestone. It's not even a milestone. Nobody says that Murali or Warne have "1000 international wickets".

It's like combining Usain Bolt's 100m and 200m world record times to say that he's also the 300m world record holder. Idiotic.

sarker feroz ahmed
on February 21, 2012, 12:03 GMT

I still believe that The legend -Little Master will get his 100th century within a short interval. We are all with you dear Tendulker. Please go ahead.

prajakt patil
on February 21, 2012, 12:02 GMT

fantastic analysis sir,too good u r the boss,wat a article,please read this all srt haters

manujbahal
on February 21, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Very apt very lucid writing, though do not agree with few points yet do salute you for your knowledge and language skills. Tendulkar still have 3 full years of cricket left in him and no dobut present Tour is his one of the worst ever, but he will definitely come out of this slump. Champion players have that extra always in them and sachin is one them..He will definitely score 12 more centuries and make it Nelson 111..Poetic Justice to a great career.

Ayebee
on February 21, 2012, 11:57 GMT

Excellent article, but Tendulkar is just one innings away from that magical form for at least 2 years of test cricket. And what i sniff, this series can be his last for ODIs. I hope, he proves me wrong as i have never seen any entertainer like him. He has provided 22 years of continuous thrill not only to India but to the entire world, for which we all are grateful to him Salute to the great man, and i am sure that he will not end up on 99. Amen.

Amit Mulay
on February 21, 2012, 11:54 GMT

And the point is...? Slightly confused and impressed at the same time. Impressive research on long term decline of the legends. But slightly confused by what the point about Sachin is. He has seen it and done it all before. Doesn't mean he can do it again, doesn't mean he can't.

He seems to be fighting a perception battle with the ROTW. Final chapter of his legacy. It would be naive to assume he isn't aware of his stature. So, It would be naive to assume he wouldn't do a bit more to write one more line in his legacy.

He has been scoring runs in the year gone, unlike his elbow years. So form and / or class, they are both there. He needs to follow his own slogan for Adidas - 'Impossible is Nothing' or 'I M Possible' Definitely a year or so left in him. And certainly not at the expense of any youngster.

kashan
on February 21, 2012, 11:53 GMT

Very good review/overview/outlook sir :)

shiljkbaby
on February 21, 2012, 11:51 GMT

I feel sachin lost the rhythem of cricket.He is simply shivering at crease now.Perhaps he is just thinking only about his records ,and this the only reason he is been not able to deliver under pressure.He is really volatile under pressure.I feel very disappointed the way the youngsters playing.

Why cant india select some smart players rather than sticking with all idiot players like jadeja,Rohith,Sewag etc..just see the chances given to Australian players by the board.If they are not performed they are simply out of the team irrespective of name.They are born to win.

L.N.Rao
on February 21, 2012, 11:50 GMT

I do agree that it would be annoying to see Sachin retire without that 100th 100 but I don't for a moment think that Sachin is playing for this milestone. One weakness of Sachin has been his mental frailty. For the best in the world, he may not be as mentally strong as his cricket. There are probably equal number of Indians in India that question Sachin's greatness and those questions are now being asked by even close circles probably within his team. MS Dhoni as a captain is not getting the best out Tendulkar. I think Tendulkar is a kid at heart and MS Dhoni has to be back him. I don't Tendulkar ever likes to lose and right now, MS Dhoni and co have created such instability that I seriously doubt if he will ever achieve the 100 even if decides to stay on. It is very likely Sachin will retire soon. I would have liked hime to retire on a high but then I don't think Tendulkar would ever want to be a liability to the team and have to continuously deal with questions now from within team.

veeresh
on February 21, 2012, 11:50 GMT

good anlsis. but i am confidnt about SACHINs 100th hundred & few more to come. bewarrrr!!! because he is SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR.

ThePhantomMenace
on February 21, 2012, 11:48 GMT

Maybe the BCCI/ICC can arrange Zimbabwe to tour India and play a 5 test series. Tendulkar will probably be able to complete it then.

NPSE
on February 21, 2012, 11:47 GMT

problem with tendulkar is simple. When he attacks he looks good but once he goes in his shell for some reason, he gets out. I think it is lack of confidence and too much pressure as he knows he is playing with a bunch of loosers.

Asim
on February 21, 2012, 11:44 GMT

Andy u champ.....

hitendra vasudeo
on February 21, 2012, 11:42 GMT

hello, forget i am not interested in his 100. I want india to win. and if you loose then dont loose like popat wadi XI.
play decently and loose.
At this stage if you cannot play bounce and swing on austrialian pitches than entire 18000 and 150000 runs of one and test are futile.
check the record. how many matches india has won when he has scored above 50 forget 100.

Ricky
on February 21, 2012, 11:41 GMT

I wish Indian fans would leave you unattached for this write-up.

Aditya
on February 21, 2012, 11:38 GMT

About this: "It is now 29 innings since Tendulkar scored his 99th international hundred." ...

I was hoping to see the count for # of 50s he made in those 29 innings, and even the # of 90s. If I recall right, SRT has come quite close to completing the milestone but missed on several occasions even after posting 70-80-90 runs. I know that that does *not* count, but the string of 29 innings should be taken in perspective ... that it was not all drought but some big, oh almost made it there, scores, too.

Just wondering how many 90s, or 80s in those 29 innings?

I sometimes wonder myself ... what if we play a game here and say, ok you didn't get a 100. But let's count a string of 4 successive 50s in any 4 consecutive at-bat innings as a 100. (If you scored 56, 66, 88 and then ended up with 49 only to score the match-winning runs, too bad, that doesn't count.) Just for fun.

How much would the statistics add up to? For SRT, and for all the other biggies like Dravid, Ponting and the rest.

Sundar
on February 21, 2012, 11:35 GMT

How come this guy gets such a interesting stats to bring in as a article! Master at the end of his tenure. Strictly the 100th 100 should come in tests or else the career should end in 99th!

Ibrahim
on February 21, 2012, 11:30 GMT

Inshaa Allah !!! he make 100th ton soonly.

Amrith
on February 21, 2012, 11:29 GMT

Can't agree more. Have seen it happen to a number of players more often than I would like. Ironically with several giants of the game the end comes abruptly they get reduced to mere mortals. The very attacks or bowlers whom they would have destroyed in their peak keep taking wickets and more often than not they find ways to get out. Sachin's dismissal today trying to leave the ball is a case in point.

Acceptance of decline is difficult issue for anyone even more so for a legend who has seen the ups and downs over the years. The mind still remains sharp but physically something gives out. Damien martin another fantastic touch player looked a shadow of his self in ICL and later IPL when he payed despite being ultra fit.

Very chosen are the few who choose to go out on a high - Clive Lloyd for one comes to mind. For the most other greats almost inevitably they try to delay it as long as possible. I strongly believe it is advisable to ask a trusted ex-cricketer a second opinion.

Amlan Chakraborty
on February 21, 2012, 11:26 GMT

Sachin should retire immediately

Arvind Sivdas
on February 21, 2012, 11:26 GMT

An article with no central point, but i love the little facts woven together..

sandeep
on February 21, 2012, 11:24 GMT

"Jason Gillespie scored a double-century in his final Test innings. If there is a god, he is no respecter of batting legends."

very funny ending..

Khalid Hussain
on February 21, 2012, 11:20 GMT

There is no doubt in the class of 10dulkar.If Don Bradman has gone for records he must have averaged above 100.Twenty plus years in Intl cricket is a blessing, In my personal opinion he should have taken honorable retirement after winning the world cup where he was droped at least 5 times against his match against Pakistan

mazhar
on February 21, 2012, 11:08 GMT

THINK BCCI OF TENDULKAR FOR HIS 100TH CENTURY,PLEASE ARRANGE ANY ONE DAY SERIES WITH BANGLADESH OR WITH KENYA FOR SAKE OF TENDULKAR

Maqsood Ahmed Soomro
on February 21, 2012, 11:07 GMT

The problem with the little master is , he has taken the record burden over his head. Which is probably costing his performance . He should play his free flowing game and i am sure the day is not too far when he will be able to score his 100th century.

Suraj
on February 21, 2012, 11:04 GMT

I think it the end of Tendulkar's career.

Sanjay Manohar
on February 21, 2012, 10:50 GMT

Nice article but you shouldn't compare Tendulker getting his hundredth 100 with Armstrong being the first man EVER to set foot on the moon. Its unfair on Neil- Tendulker's achievement would be far greater!!! :P

Sundaresh
on February 21, 2012, 10:49 GMT

Scoring 100th hundred shouldnt be in his mind at all. He has played almost 30- 40 Innings and got out scoring 30's & 40's.

Also this is affectng the teams performance. May be he should quit or take a break for a season, until the Indians goes back to India and play in the flat pitches

AKash
on February 21, 2012, 10:26 GMT

The problem with Tendulkar ? who is writing this ? Possibly the person who never played international cricket.

Sahil Dhingra
on February 21, 2012, 10:23 GMT

Andy,

My comments are not only for this article, I must say YOU ROCK :).

I am not a good reader but the way you write is awesome.

Cheers!

SMIT
on February 21, 2012, 10:23 GMT

Look this man was vorn to play cricket , so keep your mouth shut and let him play his game

"Jason Gillespie scored a double-century in his final Test innings." I still can't believe it. Great article as always Andy.

And
on February 21, 2012, 10:05 GMT

Fuck you andy !!

gaja
on February 21, 2012, 10:04 GMT

I am pretty sure, Nobody can break his record, that No of time dismissed by bowled, He's really a legend!!!!

Syed
on February 21, 2012, 9:57 GMT

Surprising he is still playing after the recent failures in England and Australia. The 'god of cricket' is ageing and gone weak. Time to retire gracefully. As an Indian I'm more interested in how many games India wins and not how many runs an individual scores!

sadha
on February 21, 2012, 9:53 GMT

he could have went to the west indies but decided to take a rest but played the ipl before the tour. i thought it was disrespectful to the west indian people and its cricketers.it also resulted in his loss of form and has not scored a hundred since the world cup.

Aayush Kumar
on February 21, 2012, 9:37 GMT

Great article - but why is this on Page 2?!

nasim khan
on February 21, 2012, 9:25 GMT

Sachin's solution is only one, he must retire, either by himself or forced to do so, let me also say that he is great cricketer there is doubt, but as Imran the Great mentioned in his one News Channel interview that, "Saachin should have retired after winning the WORLD CUP" and i agree completely, it is not nice to say that he becomes greedy of some thing, people may have their own point of view.

noor alam chishty
on February 21, 2012, 9:22 GMT

undoubtly tendulkar is one of the greatest of all times, but in my opinion he has taken a lot of pressure for the 100th century, i am sure sooner or later he will deservedly get it but the pressure of the expectations of millions of his fans in India, Pakistan and all around the world is haunting him i think he should keep calm and try to play his natural game just simply forget about this milestone and go out to bat as normal as he normally does the great milestone will be achieved as so many great achievements which he already bagged. i alonwith millions of cricket loving people are really waiting to see him achieve this unique feat. Go little master go you are the one and only one who can do this.

vijay
on February 21, 2012, 9:07 GMT

Wonderful article. Masterpiece to match the brilliance of the master blaster!

SANJAY
on February 21, 2012, 9:02 GMT

VERY NICELY & SENSIBLY WRITTEN. YOU ARE THE FIRST ONE WHO THINKS SACHIN WILL NO LESSER BE GREAT IF STUCK ON 99. PEOPLE WHO JUST SEE SCORECARD MIGHT SAY BUT ANYONE WHO WATCHES HIM PLAY WILL AGREE THAT HIS FORM/TECHNIQUE ETC... HAS NO PROBLEM. JUST A MATTER OF TIME. PEOPLE STILL LOVE HIM DEEP IN THEIR HEARTS. HE CAN NEVER DESERVE HARSH OPINIONS.

Kaduva Nanappan
on February 21, 2012, 8:57 GMT

"Jason Gillespie scored a double-century in his final Test innings. If there is a god, he is no respecter of batting legends." What more to say? ;-)

Raju Iyer
on February 21, 2012, 8:54 GMT

Seriously well written though the stats tended to become a bit too much. A must read for all Sachin fans. Great job, Andy

Anonymous
on February 21, 2012, 8:27 GMT

As a person watching cricket since 1975, indian team, players, public are such unprofessional people, with no maturity, level headness to apply any logic, to be practical, to move on, cling to old fashioned ways, which is followed from Gavaskar time to tendulkar time in this country when it comes to this sport, in which we are great amount 10 countries who play, like george bernaud shaw said, 11 fools play and 11000 fools watch , Tendulkar is no demi god or anything of cult status, he has passed his pristime, lost his value in the form of his strength, ability to play shots, be durable, dependable, commant , stay put for 50 overs in one day or in test matches, he has waned, and if he blieves in self respect, dignity, in his name and fame, and does not bother about money, wihtout being told he should retire with diginity, and not go down like titanic and then take a call with shame and after defaming his name with his failiures and inability to score 100th hundred and cling on.

Mihir
on February 21, 2012, 8:26 GMT

I think people's expectations are getting better of Tendulkar rather then his age or the milestone in question. Imagine the furor of the million fans paying through their mouth for tickets to watch him complete his century, imagine the plight of thousands of soothsayers/pundits predicting his milestone only to be laughed at and thereby destroying their aura of know-it-all's.

I say let him play at his pace... yes he is far away from the thriftiness once seen when he was a young lad, but one look at Rohit sharma's and rest of the 'young' crop, and he still seems to be the best bet we have to steady the ship.

He will know when its time to hang up those gloves and pour himself a stiff one to enjoy the sunset years, but till then, as he has shown before, best left to him, is the judgement call to retire.

Till then, lets resume twiddling our thumbs in anticipation of the milestone, which we should not speak off.

kiran
on February 21, 2012, 8:12 GMT

This is surely matching because when sachin played the ball he knowns it is going to hit stump from his bat he intensional played that shot he is master of bat
so u decide what ur going to do with this team.

SK
on February 21, 2012, 8:07 GMT

And your point is?

Andy
on February 21, 2012, 8:04 GMT

What about Ganguly? I think he retired at his peak. Some may say, too early!

Sandesh
on February 21, 2012, 8:04 GMT

Well written !!!

Wickrama
on February 21, 2012, 8:01 GMT

Can some team please let Tendulkar retire in peace by allowing him his 100th 100?

ramu
on February 21, 2012, 7:55 GMT

Brilliant, but your other ones are undoubtedly even better

No featured comments at the moment.

ramu
on February 21, 2012, 7:55 GMT

Brilliant, but your other ones are undoubtedly even better

Wickrama
on February 21, 2012, 8:01 GMT

Can some team please let Tendulkar retire in peace by allowing him his 100th 100?

Sandesh
on February 21, 2012, 8:04 GMT

Well written !!!

Andy
on February 21, 2012, 8:04 GMT

What about Ganguly? I think he retired at his peak. Some may say, too early!

SK
on February 21, 2012, 8:07 GMT

And your point is?

kiran
on February 21, 2012, 8:12 GMT

This is surely matching because when sachin played the ball he knowns it is going to hit stump from his bat he intensional played that shot he is master of bat
so u decide what ur going to do with this team.

Mihir
on February 21, 2012, 8:26 GMT

I think people's expectations are getting better of Tendulkar rather then his age or the milestone in question. Imagine the furor of the million fans paying through their mouth for tickets to watch him complete his century, imagine the plight of thousands of soothsayers/pundits predicting his milestone only to be laughed at and thereby destroying their aura of know-it-all's.

I say let him play at his pace... yes he is far away from the thriftiness once seen when he was a young lad, but one look at Rohit sharma's and rest of the 'young' crop, and he still seems to be the best bet we have to steady the ship.

He will know when its time to hang up those gloves and pour himself a stiff one to enjoy the sunset years, but till then, as he has shown before, best left to him, is the judgement call to retire.

Till then, lets resume twiddling our thumbs in anticipation of the milestone, which we should not speak off.

Anonymous
on February 21, 2012, 8:27 GMT

As a person watching cricket since 1975, indian team, players, public are such unprofessional people, with no maturity, level headness to apply any logic, to be practical, to move on, cling to old fashioned ways, which is followed from Gavaskar time to tendulkar time in this country when it comes to this sport, in which we are great amount 10 countries who play, like george bernaud shaw said, 11 fools play and 11000 fools watch , Tendulkar is no demi god or anything of cult status, he has passed his pristime, lost his value in the form of his strength, ability to play shots, be durable, dependable, commant , stay put for 50 overs in one day or in test matches, he has waned, and if he blieves in self respect, dignity, in his name and fame, and does not bother about money, wihtout being told he should retire with diginity, and not go down like titanic and then take a call with shame and after defaming his name with his failiures and inability to score 100th hundred and cling on.

Raju Iyer
on February 21, 2012, 8:54 GMT

Seriously well written though the stats tended to become a bit too much. A must read for all Sachin fans. Great job, Andy

Kaduva Nanappan
on February 21, 2012, 8:57 GMT

"Jason Gillespie scored a double-century in his final Test innings. If there is a god, he is no respecter of batting legends." What more to say? ;-)